Palm has launched a touchscreen smartphone along with a brand-new WebOS operating system and an "intelligent" cohesive contact management setup Palm calls Synergy.
The Palm Pre will be an EvDO 3G smartphone with a 3.1in 320x480 touchscreen that can recognise gestures as well as individual taps.
In contrast to Apple iPhone, it will have a slide-down Qwerty keypad to make text entry easier "rather than a cheesy software keyboard". However, in common with the iPhone, a two-fingered pinch is used to zoom in and out of photos and web pages.
The Pre is slightly curved to make its use as a phone more comfortable than some of the application heavy but bulky handsets with which it will be competing.
It weighs a scant 4.8oz and can be used both single-handedly or with two hands for easier text entry. A distinguishing element is that the Pre's touchscreen extends to below the screen area to a 'gesture area' where you can swipe a finger left or right to move forwards or backwards through web pages, emails and music or photo libraries.
Palm PreThe Palm Pre supports 802.11b and g Wi-Fi, has a 3Mp camera with a flash and has an 8GB internal memory. It will have a T1 4350 processor and a built-in GPS receiver with turn-by-turn navigation.
This will be provided by Telenav.
It will also have a removable battery - something the iPhone has been criticised for lacking.
Other features include Bluetooth v2.1 with stereo headphone support, a 3.5mm headphone jack, micro USB slot and the same hardware on/off button with option to put the handset in flight mode found on the Palm Treo.
The Palm Pre will initially launch exclusively on the US Sprint network. Preorders are being taken at sprint.com, with the handset available from mid-2009.
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